Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL.
This is the first time in his career that Couturier has won the award, for which he has been nominated several times. The two other finalists for the award this year were Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron and St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly.
Couturier had a breakout year this season, showing that he was a force on both sides of the ice. On the defense end, he registered 60 hits and 40 takeaways, usually defending the best scorer on the opposing team and limiting their production.
He was excellent on offense as well, tallying 59 points in 69 games, which was the second most of anyone on the Flyers.
Couturier had a plus-21 rating while on the ice, averaging almost 20 minutes of ice time per game. He was also great in faceoffs all year, winning a league-high 59.7% of the faceoffs he took.
The Flyers made it to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this season, losing to the New York Islanders in Game 7.
